Changes
by Kiradora
Summary: R&R The last episode of Grey's redone. There was no plane crash. This is my telling of how season 8, and the series, should have ended. Named "Changes" to keep with the tradition of episodes named after songs.
1. Chapter 1

*****DISCLAIMER: I do not own Grey's Anatomy or any part of it's property. This story is pure fan fiction. I am posting for my love of writing and the show*****

**A/N: I would really appreciate reviews on this story. Also, I'd love it if anyone had any suggestions for characters and how they would like to see their send off!**

* * *

Meredith, Christina, Derek, Lexie, Mark, and Arizona have just returned from Boise, ID. They are entering the ER entrance of Seattle Grace Mercy West. Alex is in the ER and sees the other doctors. He approaches Meredith and Lexie, who are filling out paperwork at the desk.

"So?" Alex demanded. Meredith and Lexie look at him slightly puzzled. "How did the surgery go?" He demanded once again, this time with exasperation.

"Oh, that. It went well. There were some minor complications, but the babies are fine." Meredith replied, realizing what it was that Alex wanted.

"What sort of complications? What is the follow up plan? Who is the on call doctor?" He asked earnestly.

"Alex, would you please relax? Everything is fine. Besides, Robbins kicked you off of this case, remember?" Meredith said, slightly annoyed. Derek walked over to his wife and kissed her forehead.

"Now, I have to see my daughter." Meredith said, smiling at Derek. She handed the nurse her clipboard of forms and left with Derek to see Zola.

"I don't believe this. Robbins didn't answer my calls all day, and now she's no where to be found." Alex said, throwing his hands up in frustration.

Lexie rolled her eyes. "Come one Alex, give it a rest. The surgery went well, and Arizona is probably with Callie and Sophia."

"Whatever. This is crap." Alex replied as he left to attend to his patient.

Lexie laughed under her breath as she handed the nurse her paperwork. She turned around to see Mark standing before her. "That was some really great work back there, Lex."

"Yeah, well you guys did most of the work. I was just there to help Derek." She said with a shaky voice. "Listen, I should probably run back home to, uh, you know, change." She rubbed her forehead like she always did when she was nervous.

"Can we talk? Maybe over dinner or something?" Mark asked, desperate to catch her before she ran off.

"Oh, Mark…" Lexie wasn't sure if she wanted to have that conversation yet. She was afraid that her confession would lead to something very uncomfortable. "Listen, we don't need to go through that whole thing."

"I think we do. Listen, I'll cook and do the talking. You just have to eat. That's all I'm asking."

Lexie sighed heavily. "Right, your apartment tonight." She agreed and walked away before she had to say any more.

* * *

"Robbins!" Alex yelled, spotting her in the hallway embracing Callie.

"Really, Karev!" Arizona turned to give him a dirty look.

"Don't be too hard on him. He's losing you too." Callie whispered to her wife. Clearing her throat Callie raised her voice. "I'll, uh, just let you two talk things out." Callie walked down the hallway, give Arizona an encouraging look.

Crossing her arms, Arizona turned to Alex. "What is it, Karev? Can't you give me any peace?"

"Did you get my messages or not? Because I haven't heard from you since you left."

"Yes! Yes I got all your damn messages, Alex! I got them on the plane, and at the hospital, and in the middle of surgery, and on the way home!"

"Then why didn't you call me back?"

"Because I had other things to do. Listen, Alex, you're a good doctor but you're not my number one priority. I have a wife, and a child, and a job. I get it. I get that you're upset that I you didn't get to go to Boise. I get that you wanted one last big surgery before you left for Hopkins, but this is ridiculous!" Arizona exclaimed.

"Look, I get that you're pissed, but Hopkins is the best there is. I can't say no to them."

"I'm not pissed, Karev." Arizona started. "Well I am, but that's not the point. I'm happy for you, it's just going to take me a long time to realize that I'm happy for you. I'm losing my best resident."

"Look, I'll keep in touch. M-maybe I'll even come back." Alex offered, shrugging his shoulders.

Arizona sighed heavily and shook her head. She covered the space between her and Alex and embraced him in a tight hug. After a moment of confusion, he hugged her back.

"_You_ will be the best doctor Hopkins has ever seen. After all, you were taught by the best." Arizona said teary eyed. Alex gave her a shy smile.

* * *

"Chief! Incoming car crash, ETA five minutes out!" A nurse yelled to Owen.

"All right, did they tell you the damage?" He asked as he grabbed a gown.

"It sounded pretty bad. Not sure what who you'll need." She replied in a hurried voice as she ran off to prep trauma one.

"You! Page Bailey, Altman, and Torres stat!" He said to a passing nurse. Owen had a sinking feeling that this was going to be something big.

Torres came running out of the ER doors, joining Altman, Bailey and Hunt. "What do we have?" She asked as two ambulances pulled in front of the hospital.

"Car crash, two cars, and three victims." Hunt replied. "Bailey, you and Altman take this one, we'll take the other."

"Female in her mid to late thirties. Lacs to the upper torso, broken arm. Stable in the field." The driver said as she rushed to open the doors of the ambulance.

"Okay, on my count!" Altman said. "One, two, three!" The stretcher banged onto the cement and they rushed her inside the hospital. The other paramedic escorted a man out of the back.

"M-my wife. She was driving. He came out of nowhere! He just slammed into us." The man stumbled over his words.

"C-spine is clear, no obvious injuries." The paramedic said to Bailey.

"Sir? Are you hurt anywhere? We need to take you inside." Bailey walked with the paramedic to take him inside the hospital.

Owen opened the doors to the second ambulance. "John Doe, late sixties. He's a mess, Chief." The paramedic said to Owen.

Pulling the stretcher out of the ambulance, Callie gasped. "It's Webber!"

Owen stared for a moment before collecting himself. "Get him inside NOW!" He yelled, running his former boss into the hospital.


	2. Chapter 2

"April, are we going to talk about this?" Jackson asked her as they sat in the resident's lounge.

"What is there to talk about, Jackson? The fact that my career is basically over or the fact that I betrayed my deepest devotion to Jesus?" She asked him, her voice higher than usual.

"Listen, April…" Jackson stopped talking as the door swung open. Christina walked to her cubby without saying a word.

"So," Jackson began "how did the surgery go?"

"It was fine." She answered him, not really paying attention to him.

"That's good." Jackson gave April a look.

"You know, April, I was thinking about your situation." Christina said, turning around. "You could move to New York. Doctors don't need to be board certified there. Or you could just find something else in the medical field. Then retake them next year." Christina said coolly as she bit into an apple.

April looked stunned. "Aside from that being the nicest things you've ever said to me, it may be too late to apply for a job in New York. Plus I don't even know how I would afford New York."

Christina shrugged. "Well, you could always milk cows."

"Doctor Yang?" A nurse walked into the lounge. "Doctor Altman sent me to find you; you haven't been answering your pages. She needs you in trauma room one right away." The nurse seemed shaken.

"What is it? What's going on?" Jackson asked.

"It's doctor Webber. He was in a car accident. He…" She trailed off.

"You could have said it was Webber before!" Christian yelled as she ran out of the room, April and Jackson on her tail.

* * *

"Look at you! Did you get bigger? I think you did!" Derek cooed at his daughter. Meredith laughed as she played with Zola on the nursery floor.

"I think she did." Meredith said to her husband, beaming happily to be with her family once again. Her pager beeped, as did Derek's. "911 ER. We'd better go."

"All right." Derek sighed, kissing Zola on one of her cheeks. "Let's go."

* * *

"He needs CT. We don't know the full extend of the damages." Bailey said in her panicked voice. "We can't just rush him into surgery."

"If I don't get him into an ER right now, he won't be alive to ever see a CT machine again." Teddy snapped back.

"What's going on?" Derek asked as he and Meredith walked into the trauma room. He looked around at all of the doctors in the room; half of the surgical attendings were there. Walking around the table to look at the patient, his jaw dropped. "No…" Richard Webber lay unconscious on the table. "What happened?"

"Collision. He's in desperate need of surgery but they can't decide if he should go to CT first." Jackson said quietly. The whole room was silent.

"How bad is it?" Meredith asked.

"Mer…" Christina tried to grab her arm and lead her out.

"No!" How bad is it?" She demanded.

"If I don't start operating in the next five minutes, his heart will explode from the pressure he's under. He will die in the CT." Teddy said, directing the last bit at Bailey.

"Then take him to surgery! If it's the only way to save him, then do it! You can figure out the rest as you go!" Meredith yelled at the room.

"She's right. Let's get him up to any open OR." Owen said

* * *

Lexie rushed into the gallery above OR three. Meredith sat with her head in her hands and April had a hand on her back. She sat down next to her sister, but looked at April. "How is it going? I came as soon as I heard." Lexie looked down at the ER.

"Doctor Shepard is performing a craniotomy on Webber, Bailey and Hunt are working on his liver and spleen, Christina and Altman are removing a shard of glass that was impaling Webber's heart, and Torres is working on Webber's pelvis which was fractured." April said softly.

"Oh…" was all Lexie could manage. She watched as the surgeons all worked in silence to save Webber.

* * *

"Dammit!" Teddy swore under her breath.

"What is it?" Hunt demanded, wanting to know everything that was happening in the OR.

"It's the graph, it's not holding. If we can't get a stop on this bleeding there will be no point in trying to save his other organs." Teddy replied quickly.

"What do you need me to do?" Hunt asked.

"There is nothing you _can_ do, Owen. Either we get this graph to hold or we're done." Teddy said sighing. "All right. Christina, let's try something different."

* * *

Derek glanced up at the gallery. Mark, Robbins, Kepner, Avery, Lexie, and Karev were all watching the surgery, unable to help. But it was Meredith his eyes went to. Turning back to his friend, open on the table, Derek mentally shook his head. He needed to make sure that the surgery went well. His part was done, but Richard's spleen had to be removed and a large portion of his liver resected. Torres, Bailey, and Hunt stayed in the OR too. They were watching Altman and Yang work on his heart. Derek sighed, knowing that this would be a long day.


	3. Chapter 3

Christina had enough intelligence to get Meredith away from Webber. She directed her to the resident's lounge and sat there with her in silence until others started to trickle in. They hadn't done anything but make the situation worse. The only one who knew to keep her mouth shut and not talk to Meredith was Lexie. Everyone was talking at once; no one understood how important the chief was to Mer. He was her family, just like Derek, Lexie, and Zola.

Finally Christina snapped. "Enough!" She shouted to the entire room. "You are doctors! All of you! We have patients, so go doctor!" She yelled, pushing people out of the room as she did. Once the crowd cleared, only Christina, Meredith, and Alex remained.

"Now look, Meredith, Webber is stable for now. He's in the ICU. No one is going to let anything happen to him. So get up!" She said the last sternly. Christina was the only one who could mentally slap Meredith this way. And right now, she needed to snap out of it.

"Yang, don't push her so hard. It's rough on everyone." Alex said to her.

"No. This is no reason to have a meltdown." Christina snapped.

Meredith looked up at Christina. "I don't need you to baby sit me, Christina. This is just too much. You're leaving, Alex is leaving, Derek and I are leaving, and I don't know if I can leave with Webber in this condition. All of my people, people who have been with me from the start, I'm leaving." Meredith said, looking at Christina with anger.

Christina sat down next to Meredith. "Listen to me, you're not abandoning anyone. We're all going to be fine. You will be fine. Derek will be fine. I will be fine. Alex will be fine. And Webber will be fine."

"Yeah, Mer. Webber's doing better and you know, I won't be that far from Boston." Alex said in his best comforting voice.

"I know that." Meredith replied. "I just can't help that this is how I feel…"

* * *

Derek sat in Webber's ICU room as the nurses hovered around, checking his vitals.

"You haven't slept since the Boise surgery." Owen said, leaning against the doorway. "You should probably rest, I can stay with him."

"No, I'm fine." Derek said, putting his head in his hands.

"You're not fine, Derek." Owen said, walking over to face Derek. "You haven't seen your daughter in almost twenty four hours. Go spend time with her. Or Meredith."

"I can't leave, Hunt!" Derek shouted attracting looks from nearby nurses. "I've known Richard most of my career. He's been a friend and mentor. I cannot possibly leave him when he needs me."

"I understand that, but what good are you doing here?"

"Derek paced the room, rubbing his chin. "Did you know I once removed a tumor from his brain? Almost five years ago now. Then Adele. I got her into my trial."

"I didn't know you operated on Webber before." Owen said, a small look of shock on his face. "Did you stay by his bedside the entire time he was in the hospital then?"

"Nearly." Derek replied. "I need to be here, Hunt."

"Well then, I'll sit with you." Owen said, realizing Shepard would not be swayed.

Rapid beeping suddenly emitted from the heart monitor.

* * *

"What the hell happened!" Teddy yelled to Hunt as she raced down the OR hallway.

"His graph must have blown! His BP is in the tank. If we don't fix this now, Bailey and Shepard's repairs won't hold!" Owen shouted back, wheeling Webber back into the OR.

"I'll scrub in. Page Yang!" Teddy replied, heading to the scrub room.

"All right, let's prep him!"

In the scrub room, Teddy was watching Owen prep Webber. Yang burst into the scrub room. "What happened?"

"Not sure, probably the graph. We need to get in there and fix it fast."

* * *

Lexie sat at home alone except for Zola, who was sleeping soundly in her crib. Meredith and Derek refused to leave the hospital and Christina told Lexie to go home with Zola. So there Lexie was, alone in the huge home that was once Ellis Grey's with her half sister's child. She missed her dinner with Mark, she had no idea why Webber had been rushed back into surgery, and she had felt more alone than ever.

A knock at the front door pulled Lexie from her train of thoughts. The door creaked open, and Mark walked in. "Mark!" Lexie cried out.

"Hey, Lex." Mark said softly, his hands in his jacket pockets.

"How is Webber? What happened to him?" Lexie quickly asked.

"Blew the graph. Altman and Yang are working on it as we speak. How's Zola?"

"Well, she misses her parents, but she's sleeping. Why are you here Mark? It's three am."

"I needed to talk to you."

"Mark, I think that should wait until…"

"No, it can't wait." Mark said sternly. "We need to talk now."


	4. Chapter 4

Christina and Teddy had reopen Webber's chest, assessed the damage, and began to work on placing a new graph. It might not work, but Christina already knew that. If they didn't control the bleeding in Webber's chest within the hour he would be in the triangle. Teddy knew this too, but neither doctor said more than they needed to.

Christina kept seeing Shepard, who was standing in the OR, scrubbed in and ready to help if needed. It pissed her off that he was standing there. Webber's brain and nerves were fine; his heart was the only remaining problem.

"You see this, Yang?" Teddy said, pointing into Webber's chest/

"There is _another_ hole in his heart." The pair shared a look.

"His heart is much weaker than we thought. This is new."

"So this could mean…" Christina trailed off.

"Exactly. We need to fix this and go from there."

Webber would need a transplant if his graph blew again. He would have to be on the donor list, and though he would be high up his heart could give out.

* * *

Owen watched his wife and best friend, both of who he wasn't on good terms with, operate on Webber. He and Teddy and never finished their conversation about MedCom, and he hadn't spoken to Christina since she said goodbye. He stood next to Shepard in the OR.

"Should we notify UNOS?" Derek leaned over and said quietly to Owen.

He shook his head. "No, we can't do that until he needs a transplant. We just have to wait."

"This is bull." Derek said, still keeping his voice low. "By the time we know, it will be too late. We're handing him a death sentence."

"I can't bend the rules here, even if I wanted to." Owen said. He wanted to keep his voice low and calm so the conversation didn't spread like wildfire. "We just need to wait it out, hope for the best."

* * *

Mark had sat on the couch in the living room for twenty minutes while Lexie found reasons not to talk. First she said she needed to call Jackson and Kepner. Then she needed to check on Zola. Then Lexie woke Zola up and had to get her back to sleep.

The front door opened and Kepner's voice came in clear as a bell. Groaning, Mark knew that this could keep him and Lexie from having their talk.

"Oh, hey. What are you doing here?" Jackson said as he and Kepner walked into the Grey house.

"None of your business, Avery. What are you and Kepner still doing up? Webber is in surgery with every attending watching him. Half of our residents were in Boise and then operated on Webber. We need you alert for tomorrow morning." Mark said in his sternest voice.

"Well, in all fairness, sir, I really won't be of any use..." Kepner began.

"So help me, Kepner, if you're about to tell me how you failed your boards, I'm going to lose it. You failed, big deal. Happens all the time. You are still a doctor, aren't you?"

"F-for now." She replied, getting that fearful look in her eyes.

"Right. So both of you, get some sleep!"

"What about you and Lexie? Shouldn't you be doing the same thing?" Jackson said, pushing Mark's buttons. Normally this would have made Mark laugh, but tonight it was just annoying.

"Get!" He pointed up the stairs. Rolling his eyes, Jackson told Kepner to go and they walked up the stairs. Lexie had appeared on the stairs at some point to watch Mark yell.

"You know, they're not kids." Lexie said as she descended down the flight of stairs.

"No, but we need people to be awake tomorrow. It's going to be a long day."

"Then why do we need to talk now? It's after three and like you said, busy day tomorrow."

Sighing, Mark took Lexie's hand and led her to the couch. "I had this planned out better, but with Webber's accident…" Mark paused, looking for the right words. "There are a lot of changes happening to the people around me. I don't want losing you to be one of the changes I have to see." Already, Lexie had that fearful look on her face. He waited a minute and finally plunged in. "What you said to me last night, I know you meant it. But why did you say it?"

Her mouth opened and closed a few times without a sound. "Well, I-I told you. It was like word vomit that I just had to get out."

"I wish you would stop associating vomit with telling me how you feel, Lex."

She stared up at him from her seat. "I just had to say it." She said quietly.

Mark sat down next to her and took her hand. "I'm glad you did. I've missed you. I was trying to be happy without you, but I have only known happiness with you."

Lexie laughed. "Did you plan that out?" She was still visibly afraid of the conversation, but her smile had reached her eyes.

"I did." Mark said, realizing how stupid it sounded. "God, did that sound as bad as I think it did?" She laughed and nodded a little. "I just don't know what to say Lexie." After a moment of laughing Mark caught her gaze. "I love you, too." It was the best Mark had, so why not run with it?


	5. Chapter 5

Miranda closed the door quietly behind her, but it was no use. Ben was still up.

"How is he?" He asked, as he stood up and embraced Miranda. She allowed herself a moment to break down in his arms. Ben wiped her tears off her face. "Hey now, Richard will be fine."

"Don't say that!" Miranda said, backing away from Ben. "I've seen people, good people, die in that hospital. I've seen it happen too many times to pretend it will get better!"

"You can't think like that, Miranda. Not everyone dies in hospitals. You're a doctor, you know that."

"I have operated on almost all of my friends or their loved ones. I've seen my fellow doctors, my residents, my interns, on the operating table. I know how this looks because I am a doctor." She responded angrily.

"I know that, but come on! It's the law of averages. You've seen a lot of sadness, and it's bound to turn around." He gingerly took her hand and led her to the couch. "Now stop crying, because you don't have a reason for tears yet."

* * *

Teddy had sent Christina home and highly encouraged everyone else to do the same. Eventually everyone but Owen had left. Those on the night shift were quiet as they worked. Teddy hadn't seen the hospital like this since the shooting. She understood it then because so many innocent lives had been lost. She never fully grasped how much Richard Webber affected everyone's lives within the hospital.

"We need to talk." Owen's voice came from afar. Turning around slowly, Teddy saw him standing behind her.

"I'm not leaving here until I know that my patient is stable. I don't report for a week anyways."

"It's not about MedCom, Teddy. It's about Christina." Owen's eyes were sad. "I'm letting her go."

"What? Owen, no! You can't." Teddy almost yelled at him.

"I have to. She needs to go and trying to keep her here will only cause more pain. I have to let her go." Owen said quietly. "I can't fight for a one sided marriage."

"Then I'm not leaving. You can't be alone in this hospital." Teddy closed the space between her and Owen. "You could barely handle it after you got home. Now you're losing your wife, your friends, and possibly your mentor."

"You _are_ going, Teddy." Owen said sternly. "You are not giving up a job at MedCom for me. I'll be fine here. Even if you and Christina are both gone." He gave Teddy a small smile and hugged her tightly. "You keep in touch though." Teddy began to cry.

* * *

Derek sat in Webber's room again. It was almost eleven in the morning and he still hadn't woken from the surgery. Owen had reminded him that Webber was sedated through the morning and this was perfectly normal. But that was over an hour ago, and Richard should be awake by now.

Derek never slept and the dark bags under his eyes and the dark stubble were proof of that. He stood up and paced the room again. Derek was starting to get angry with Richard. Why the hell hadn't he woken up yet?

Derek continued to pace the room, his thoughts racing. Finally, he lost it. His hand swept out and knocked over vases of flowers on one of the table.

"What was that for?" A groggy voice came from the bed.

Derek spun on the spot and looked at Richard who blinked at him with heavy eyes.

* * *

Meredith sat in the kitchen, feeding Zola her lunch. Christina watched the mother and child silently. Neither woman spoke a word, the quiet of the kitchen only broken by Zola's babbling.

"Morning." Alex said as he walked into the room. He poured himself a bowl of cereal and sat at the table with Christina and Meredith. "Any word about Webber?"

Meredith smiled as she spoon-fed her daughter. "He woke up."

"No kidding? Well that's a good sign. How is he?" Alex asked.

"Teddy sent a text that he's stable and awake. Derek called to say that he woke up. He's staying with Webber. Right now they're watching him to make sure he doesn't need another repair." Christina said coolly as she watched Zola eat.

"So you're still going to Boston then? And you're going to Mayo, Yang?" Alex asked.

"Why wouldn't we go?" Christina asked, giving Alex a dirty look.

"Because, Mer was all panicked about Webber and I figured if she stayed, you would." He replied. "So, I can still go to Hopkins."

Christina roller her eyes, but Meredith stopped feeding Zola. Her hand hovered in mid air. "Christina, go get me that pen and pad of paper over there." She pointed to counter. Christina stood up and grabbed the paper and pen. She handed it to Meredith. "Here, feed Zola." Meredith said to Christina.

"What's that for?" Alex asked with his mouth full.

"A contract." Meredith replied as she scribbled on the pad of paper.

"For what?" Christina and Alex asked at the same time. Meredith didn't answer. The three of them sat the in silence again. Even Zola was quiet now.

"Done." Meredith said happily. "Number one, we will always celebrate one holiday a year together. No excuses. Number two; we will call each other once a week to talk about good surgery stories. Number three; we will forever be each other's people. Anything else I should add?"

After a minute, Christina replied. "Meredith will keep an eye on Alex because he's bound to get in trouble at Hopkins."

Alex scoffed. "And Meredith will make sure Yang stays human and doesn't turn into a robot."

"Okay, Evilspawn. It's a deal."

Meredith laughed and wrote on the pad of paper. "Okay, sign." Both Christina and Alex signed without objection. "Promise me you'll both visit as often as you can." Meredith said, looking at her two oldest friends.

"Well, Alex won't be that far from you. Besides, he'll probably move with you guys there. And I'll visit." Christina said in her best reassuring voice.

"Yeah, it's just a few hours to Boston." Alex said. "Besides, Yang and I have no where else to go for Christmas and Thanksgiving." Meredith and Christina laughed.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: This chapter and following chapters take place two weeks after chapters 1-5.**

* * *

Teddy put her name badge on the desk. She felt odd knowing that this was goodbye for her. She looked up to see Owen smiling at her. It wasn't his normal smile, but one hardened from the war, the tragedies at Seattle Grace Mercy West, and (mostly) the loss of his wife.

"You're leaving then?" Owen asked already knowing the answer.

"After we clear something up. What are you doing about Christina? You can't just give up, Owen." Teddy sank into a chair in Owen's office.

Sighing, Owen shook his head at Teddy. "Look, you and I have gone through a really hard few months. And we did it alone. You lost you're husband and now I've lost my wife. Neither of us needs more details than that."

"I nearly fell apart when I lost Henry, but he died. There was nothing anyone could have done to save him. Christina isn't dead or dying! You have a chance to fight, why not take it?" Teddy demanded.

"I just can't, Teddy. I don't know what else to say."

"Fight for her! Don't let her slip away, because if she goes to Minnesota and you stay here your marriage will be over!"

"I'm aware of that." Owen said quietly.

"What did you do that was so terrible? What did she do that has made you so angry? What happened between the two of you?" Teddy asked, hoping Owen would finally confide in someone.

"She was pregnant and had an abortion." Owen's eyes did not meet Teddy's. He was stuck in those moments from the past. "We grew apart. I've always seen a future with children and she refuses. We tried couple therapy and that didn't work. Eventually, I did the stupidest thing I've ever done." He paused, looking down at the floor. Shame and agony washed over his face. "I slept with someone else." His voice was almost a whisper. Teddy sat in shock, her mouth opening and closing a few times.

After several minutes of Teddy feeling dumbfounded and Owen bowing his head in shame, Teddy managed to make words form. "You screwed up, but that doesn't mean you're marriage is over."

"It kind of does. I don't think we can come back from this."

"That's why you have to fight! Owen, I know you. You didn't want for any of this to happen. You would never knowingly hurt Christina."

"Or you." He added. Teddy looked surprised. "I never wanted for you to hurt like that. You were happy and found someone you loved, and I felt like I took that away from you. I'm so sorry Teddy, but you can't help me with my marriage when you're still grieving over the loss of your own."

* * *

Callie sipped a glass of wine as she sat on the couch staring into the fire. Sophia was sleeping at in her room and Arizona was at work still. So many people were leaving the hospital now, but Callie was safe. She wasn't going to loose her wife or best friend. They would remain a happy little family.

Callie smiled to herself, remembering all the people Seattle Grace Mercy West was losing. They were all like family to her in some way or another. Karev was Arizona's prized student, and more than that Callie had always liked him. Christina was there for Callie when she needed someone who wouldn't ask a lot of questions. It was sad that Sophia was losing her godmother, but Callie would keep Yang in check. Meredith had even been something like family to Callie. She was friends with George and that brought them closer together, and she was friends with Christina. Hell, their kids played together all the time. And Callie had a hand in teaching all of them. Every resident at Seattle Grace Mercy West had learned something from Callie.

The door opened and Callie snapped out of her train of thought. She grabbed the other glass of wine and stood up to greet her wife. "I got red this time. I know you think white is better, but red wine just tastes better so-"

"Thanks." Mark said grapping the glass from Callie. "We already have drinks, so a toast!"

"Um, that was for my wife."

"Will Arizona be home soon?" Marked asked, his face was lit up with excitement.

"I don't know." Callie said giving Mark a weird look. "What's going on?"

"Lexie and I talked." Mark beamed at Callie. She laughed slightly.

"Okay, what did you talk about, Mark?"

"Well, she told me that she loved me. And we talked and I told her I love her too."

"What?" Callie assumed Mark and Lexie still had feelings for one anther, but he was with Julia. Didn't she just baby-sit two weeks ago because they went on a date? "W-when did you guys talk? And what about Julia?"

"We broke up." Mark said coolly as he sat on the couch. "Told her the whole baby thing was a bit too much and I wasn't looking for something so serious with her. It was fun and all, but I can't pass p a chance to move things forward with Lexie."

"Mark, when did you and Lexie talk? I thought things were going well with Julia. And I liked her."

"Before we left to do that surgery in Boise, Lexie told me that she loved me. We talked the next day. We've been talking, and planning."

"I-I thought that, um, you know" Callie nodded in the direction of Sophia's room "she was a problem."

"Sophia? No! Lexie loves playing with Sophia, and she's so good with Zola. That's not a problem." Mark replied, grinning at Callie.

"Okay, so what are we toasting to? You and Julia breaking up?"

"No," Mark looked at Callie with an odd expression. "I'm going to ask Lexie to marry me."

Callie's eyes grew wide. She punched Mark in the arm. "You can't be serious! You two barely are together again!"

"Hey!" He grabbed her arm to stop her from hitting him again. "She and I talked about our plans for the future. She's packing her stuff from Meredith's and we're moving in together. That's the other part of the toast. I'm buying my own house." Mark gave Callie a sly look.

"What? You can't do that. Sophia loves her daddy being so close! Where are you buying a house?"

"Relax, Torres. Derek sold me his dream house. Finally construction finished a week ago and I signed the deed today. Plus, I've got enough land that we can build a second house for you, Robbins, and Sophia." Mark took a rather large drink of wine.

Callie laughed weakly. "Wow, Mark. Those are some pretty big changes. You sure you're going to be okay with Derek leaving and you living in his old house?"

"I have a feeling Lexie will eventually want to move to the East Coast. Both of her sisters live there, so we'll just figure it all out as time goes on. But right now, we have some celebrating to do." Mark poured more wine into Callie's glass.


	7. Chapter 7

"All right, well, I'm packed." Jackson said, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Me too." April replied in her normal bubbly voice.

Jackson sighed. "April!" She spun around to look at him. "Are we ever going to talk about what's going on? You've ignored me for the past few weeks." He stopped and walked around her room in the Grey's family house. "Look, I get it. I get what you've said and why you're upset. But we can't end things like this."

April opened and closed her mouth and then sat on the bed. She stared at the floor without saying anything for several minutes. Jackson finally went to her and sat on the bed next to her. He took her hand in his and put his other arm around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry."

"No," she cut him off abruptly. "Don't be sorry. You didn't do anything wrong, I did. But I'm going to make up for my mistakes, Jackson." She stood up, pulling away from him.

"I'm going to retake my boards next year, and Chief Hunt has agreed to give me my job back."

"What? That's great, April!"

"Yeah, I'm not sure what changed hi mind, but I'll be kept on for another year. And I've come to terms with what we did." She said the last part very quietly. Clearing her throat, she kept talking. "And I'm ready to right my wrongs."

"So, what does that mean? For us?"

"Jackson," April said softly "I'm not sure there can be an us. You're leaving for Tulane tomorrow, and I'll be here. Here trying to make up for an entire year lost."

"April, I care about you. I don't want to leave. I want you." Jackson said, standing up and grabbing her arms. "Let me stay here with you."

April and Jackson exchanged a long and heated looking at each other, before she pulled away. "No."

* * *

Meredith, Derek, Mark, Lexie, Zola, and Sophia all sat at a new dinning room table, in a newly furnished dinning room, in a new build house, that was newly bought by Mark, and built by Derek. Mark wanted one last 'family dinner' together, though Derek had reminded him this wasn't something that they normally did.

"So, what's the occasion?" Meredith whispered to Lexie while Mark and Derek were admiring the kitchen.

"I have no idea." Lexie said, bouncing Zola on her knee. "Mark seemed pretty excited to have dinner together though."

The doorbell rang, and Mark walked into the other room to answer it. After a minute, Callie and Arizona walked into the dinning room holding something in a serving dish.

"Ah, so it really is a family dinner." Derek said with a chuckle.

Mark made himself busy with gathering wine glasses, making sure Sophia had a bottle, and Zola her juice. He poured wine and started a roaring fire despite the warm weather. Meredith looked around the room, Callie and Derek laughing at something, Lexie sitting on a chair, with Mark perched on the arm, and Arizona looking a little out-of-place as she sat next to Callie.

"So, Mark, why the big 'family dinner'?" Meredith asked.

"Right." Mark said, not answering Meredith's question. "Meredith, you're the first person at the hospital to actually be nice to me. Do you remember that?"

Meredith laughed. "I do. The dirty mistresses had to unite." She gave Derek a bright smile to make sure he wasn't upset by her comment. To her relief, he was laughing too.

"And Derek, you're my oldest friend. Hell, we're practically brothers."

"Good thing it's only 'practically'." Derek laughed.

"Callie, you're my best friend and you and Arizona are the mothers of our child. Arizona, well you keep me in line." Mark gave her a sly smile, which she returned.

"And Lexie," Mark turned to look at her. "I know what battles we've gone through. I know what I've put you through, but this time I'm not letting you run away." Mark bent down on one knee and pulled out a ring. "Will you marry me?"

Arizona and Callie gasped and squealed with excitement, while Meredith laughed. This was never something she would go for, and she could tell that Lexie wasn't in love with this proposal either. Derek raised his eyebrows while sitting on the arm of Meredith's chair. "That big of a rock _and_ a new house. He's just showing off now." Derek whispered in Meredith's ear.

However, Meredith didn't really hear him, her gaze was set on Lexie's. Their eyes met and in that second, Meredith nodded slightly to Lexie. They had talked about this possibility a few days ago and Meredith told her sister to follow her gut and heart, not her head.

"Y-y-yes." Lexie managed to whisper, almost looking terrified at the prospect of being married. But she caught her sister's gaze again. Meredith was beaming at Lexie, which in turn made Lexie let out a sigh of relief and smile.

Meredith turned to Derek. "I can't believe McSteamy is going to settle down." She laughed and stood up to hug Lexie.

* * *

"So you had to make it a big deal?" Lexie asked as she slipped into bed with Mark. Everyone stayed late talking and eating. Callie and Arizona begged to take Sophia home to give the 'happy couple time to enjoy it'.

"Of course I did. You always run away when things get serious. I thought that if you had your family around you, you'd be more comfortable." Mark replied.

"Well, you caught me a little off guard." Lexie said, slightly annoyed.

"Lex, your sister is moving in three days and taking your niece and brother-in-law with her. You're friends are all leaving. Is it such a bad thing to want to hold onto the people you love?"

"No, Mark, but that was a little ridiculous. When we talked about marriage I thought I had at least a year. You know, time to practice medicine and pass my boards."

"You still have time. Meredith and Derek got married when she was not even a third year yet. I'm not saying get married tomorrow and let's start making babies." Lexie's eyes grew wide and her expression was angry and panicked. "Okay, maybe not the best thing to say when you're freaking out a little. But, you get my point. It will be okay, Lexie."

"Can the wedding be small?" She asked, looking at Mark.

"Yeah," he shrugged "as small or big as you like." He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

* * *

"So, you leave in two days?" Richard asked as he sat in his hospital bed.

"We do." Meredith smiled. "You know, you don't have to retire. No one wants to see you go."

"That may be, but it's time I do. I need to look after Adele and take care of myself."

"You're doing much better. You're BP is up, which is good."

"Meredith, I trained you." Webber gave her a playful, but serious look. One she had seen many times in her time as a resident. "I've been through enough surgeries to know that a good and stable BP can make a huge difference. But, I suppose you will become a great general surgeon and maybe even surpass me some day, if you're lucky." Richard gave Meredith a smile.

"Well, I can hope." She replied, smiling at Richard. "I'll come back to visit. As often as time will allow."

After a moment of sitting quietly in the SGMW hospital room, Meredith looked up at Webber. "Did you hear that Dr. Bailey is going to be Chief of Surgery? And I also heard that Catherine Avery may become the new head of Urology."

Webber laughed at his own private joke. "Yes I heard all that too, or don't you remember what it's like to live in this hospital? Bailey will do a great job as Chief, she was made for that job."

"Well, I should go. Still have a lot to get ready." Meredith hugged Richard and made her way to the door.

"Uh, Meredith?" Richard said as she reached the door. She turned and looked at him. "You're mother, in her own way, would be proud of you."

Meredith smiled. "I'll be back tomorrow."


End file.
